Why We’re Here - Martin Wiles

Should I pray, “Father, save me from what lies ahead?” But that is the very reason why I came. John 12:27 NLT

Our reason for existence sometimes takes time to discover.

As a child, staying with my paternal grandparents was second nature. When I was pre-school age, my grandmother was my babysitter. I rode with her in her 1930s green Chevy and helped her ring doorbells—though I never heard her say, “Avon calling.”

One day--then in middle school--while sitting beside my grandmother, I confessed: “I think God wants me to be a Bible teacher.” I had accepted Christ several years before and now considered why God had placed me on earth. Although it took cascading through some years of rebellion, I finally succumbed to God’s will. Sure enough, I became a Bible teacher and a pastor. God’s plan for me has changed and developed, but I’m still reminded of when I discovered why God placed me here.

Though God, Jesus was also human and, like everyone, had to discover why he was on earth. We can’t be sure when the Father revealed that, but he did. The thought of the cross repulsed Jesus, but he knew it was why he was here.

Above all else, we’re here to glorify God. He created us, and our thoughts and actions should reflect him to others by their purity and holiness. Jesus said we should let our lights shine so that others can see him through us and glorify the Father in heaven.

We’re here to serve God. Beyond loving him with our entire being—which Jesus said was the greatest commandment--we’re to love and serve others. Jesus even went so far as to say that’s how we serve him. Sharing God’s love is vital to our walk with him. We share by telling why Jesus was here, showing the difference he can make in a person’s life, and giving ourselves to him and others.

We’re here to allow God to form us in Christ’s image. Sometimes, we don’t enjoy the avenues God chooses to do that, but bucking him won’t yield the results he wants. Submission and obedience will.

When we live out the reason God put us here, we’ll enjoy life and live it fully.

Father, thank you for creating me with purpose. Guide me to live out your plan for my life. 

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Jesus to Me - Martin Wiles

Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Luke 7:38 NLT

“Fear God” was a command I often heard in my dad’s sermons. And I did.

Some years after my father’s death, I uncovered the only recorded sermon I have of his. I had forgotten what a fireball he was when he preached. Most of my memories are of him as a Southern Methodist preacher. He was strict—almost legalistic. Fearing God—literally--was a part of his theology, at least as a young preacher.

As a child, I took my father’s advice and feared God. Of course, I probably misunderstood the definition of fear at this young age, but I was scared. Scared of committing the wrong sin and having God annihilate me. Scared I might not make it to heaven after all. Scared I wouldn’t please Him regardless of what I did. A skewed interpretation, but mine nonetheless. And one that didn’t change for many years.

The sinful woman’s view of God must have been quite different than the pugnacious religious leader’s. She pranced into their legalistic religious gathering and marched right up to Jesus. Actually, she fell before Him, anointed His feet with her tears and then oil, and dried them with her hair. How bold. To think, she would march up to the Son of God and fall before Him. Perhaps she understood more about Jesus than her snobbish peers.

Somewhere along the way, my view of God changed as well. No longer was He a faraway deity I couldn’t approach. While I still held a healthy fear of Him—after all, He could snuff out my life by issuing a second long command—I came to understand He wasn’t out to get me. Yes, He has standards, and yes, I was obligated to obey them, but He was after a relationship with me. He wanted me to love Him with all my heart and serve Him consistently.

Fortunately, I avoided the other extreme view of God: that He is the grandfatherly type who will let me get away with sin. God is a God of discipline, but He is more interested in teaching than punishing me.

In the person of the Holy Spirit, God is as near as the breath we breathe. He calls us to a holy fear but more so to a loving relationship.

How does your picture of God affect your journey with Him?

Father, may my fear of You lead me to love You wholeheartedly and serve You diligently.

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Flashback Friday - A Different Kind of Jesus - Martin Wiles

A Different Kind of Jesus

He was pastor of the First Baptist Church in my college town, but he wasn’t typical.

When you entered First Baptist Church, Graceville, Florida, and saw Dr. Jerry Spivey* sitting on the platform chair or standing behind the massive podium, it was immediately clear he didn’t fit a First Baptist mold.

Dr. Spivey wore a plain suit, not the three piece variety with a cuff linked shirt underneath. He didn’t carry an entire Bible to the pulpit but sported a small New Testament. His sermons weren’t Greek and Hebrew laden orations. Just simple stories and applications even small children could understand. And if he came to visit you, he might be wearing shorts. Read more...

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